#5: Meet someone famous.

About time for another post, don't you think?

#5: Meet someone famous.

Now, I know I've been basically the worst blogger ever because it's been months since my last post, but I've just been so busy with school and college stuff that I haven't had time. Today, however, I was motivated to start blogging again.

I slept in today until noon. Normally, that would have been a rare treat but I've actually slept until noon for the past five days. I got up and made myself some Eggo waffles, which turned out kind of dry. I washed them down with a warm bottled water from my garage. I then drove to the school my grandparents work at to help them clean out their classrooms (they're retiring... congrats, Nana and Pop-Pop!) The school is not air-conditioned and it was in the mid-eighties today, so I was sweating like a dog if a dog was able to sweat. Then I drove home, getting lost in Valley Forge Park for about ten minutes along the way. Needless to say, not the greatest start to a day. Then, my luck changed.

I got a text from my friend Marissa Gero which read "NATE TBL TWEETED YOUR WEBSITE". The lack of punctuation and use of all caps did not even convey the extent of my excitement. I had to play it cool because my mom was in the room and probably would have had a heart attack if I randomly started screaming. I smoothly slinked out of the room, ran down the hall to my bedroom, shut the door and began jumping up and down in a fashion reminiscent of Tom Cruise on Oprah. I'm glad there aren't security cameras in my house because I acted like a big dork, but this was a big deal.

I don't think anyone understands really what this means to me. I don't even think the Buried Life guys knew (it was actually Jonnie who found my blog) what this meant. A year ago, I was a sick, frail ghost of a teenager who could barely get out of bed in the morning. Yet here I was dancing like a drunk monkey on a banana plantation. Of course, I couldn't just take Marissa's word for it. I had to see it for myself. I logged onto Twitter faster than a speeding waistband and before I knew it, there it was. "Love this kid: whatdouwant2dob4udie.blogspot.com #goNate". The hash-tag hashed my sanity. I almost broke down into tears.

As if the tweet wasn't enough, I proceeded to check my e-mail as I remembered I had written the TBL guys a few weeks back. Sure enough, there was a response directly from Jonnie. I'm not going to disclose what it said (that's for me alone) but I will say that it was very sweet and that I teared up when I read it.

This process... this list... this has been the motivation that got me through it all. I went to hell and back over the past two years, but this list was the light at the end of the tunnel. As I said in my very first post, I don't know that I'll accomplish all 100 goals by the time college rolls around, but the important part is that I make it that far. Without the goals to keep me driving forward, I probably would not even be here typing this with tear-stained cheeks and a smile on my face.

I know I didn't "meet" anyone famous, and I know the Buried Life guys would not classify themselves as "famous" anyways. Nonetheless, I feel like this goal is complete now. Those four guys- Duncan, Jonnie, Dave and Ben- they are my inspiration. Without them, I wouldn't have been around to sleep in this morning; I probably wouldn't have gotten my license which enabled me to drive to help my grandpa this afternoon and to get lost in Valley Forge; I definitely would not have been able to eat dry Eggo waffles because I'd still be too sick to eat. To know that they know I was inspired by them and that I want to keep their message going is both mind-blowing and extremely humbling.

I haven't finished the list yet. I'm still working on it. I'm still working on myself. But today, my project came full circle, and that in my mind warrants crossing off this item.

Everyone that's reading this: I know this post was written hastily, but I hope I've gotten the point across. If I've inspired you, just know I'm passing on a message. I wasn't the start of the chain and hopefully I won't be the end of it either. Keep passing the word along. Life is a glass half full. I didn't get lost in Valley Forge today; I just took the scenic route. My illness wasn't a curse... it was an opportunity: an opportunity to find myself, to make memories, and to live life to the fullest... to dig myself out from my buried life, brush off the mud and maggots, and watch the sun rise again.

Thank you, Duncan, Jonnie, Dave and Ben. Thank you for saving my life.